


Concerns and Surprises

by purpleeyesandbowties



Series: Addy and the Maitlands [3]
Category: Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: (raises hand) what if barbara and delia were friends?, Misunderstandings, Multi, barbara's husband and boyfriend being thoughtful, discussion of cheating. no actual cheating occurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 13:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20291863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleeyesandbowties/pseuds/purpleeyesandbowties
Summary: Delia overhears a conversation and comes to the wrong conclusion.





	Concerns and Surprises

**Author's Note:**

> hey again! this story takes place during barb's pregnancy, after the maitlands and beej get together. i just really want barbara to have friends outside her romantic partners and also i think delia is lonely. so. 
> 
> special thanks to jagwire on ao3 for coming up with beetlejuice and adam's gift to barbara. he was very kind to lend it to me for this fic. thanks!

Delia was not a nosy person. Well, maybe she was. But she was a life coach! It was literally her job to be involved in the lives of people around her. Besides, Delia always said that if someone wanted their business to stay private, they shouldn’t conduct it out in the open where anyone could accidentally oversee or overhear it. That was just common sense, right?

Delia adhered strictly to that policy….but she also didn’t deny herself the opportunity to see and hear private things conducted in public, when such an opportunity arose.

That’s why, when she saw that strange rat-looking demon man and one of the two ghosts who lived in her house (or did she live in theirs?) talking breathlessly to each other in the hallway, she stopped short and hid behind the doorframe. If she craned her neck, she could see them perfectly. For once, Beetlejuice looked….she didn’t really have a word for it. Non-murderous. He had a smile on his face, but it was strangely soft rather than maniacal. Mr. Ghost—Adam—for his part, smiled back at him. They were both breathing hard and leaning into each other.

“I can’t believe we just did that,” Adam said, placing a hand against Beetlejuice’s chest.

“Do you think Barbara knows?” Beetlejuice asked softly.

“No,” Adam replied. “We’ve been careful. She didn’t see us.”

“Good.”

There was silence for a few seconds. Delia risked another peek around the corner and almost blew her cover with a gasp. She managed to contain it well enough, or maybe it was just that the two men currently making out in the hallway were too concerned with each other to hear it. Their voices were lower now, murmured, and Delia could only catch a word here and there. Among them were “waited for this”, “safe now”, and “the right thing”.

“Mm,” Adam said, finally disengaging from Beetlejuice. “We should get going.”

Beetlejuice sighed. “Yeah, Babs might be getting suspicious. There’s a lot I want to do today.”

“Let’s not waste a second, then,” Adam said. Delia took her final peek when Beetlejuice said, “actually I think we can afford to waste a few more seconds,” and kissed Adam again.

Delia took a deep breath and carefully crept down the hallway, away from the intertwined men. As soon as she was out of earshot, she gathered up her long skirt and _ran. _

—

Barbara was sitting in the kitchen, watching Lydia paint her nails and chatting idly about a girl Lydia liked. They’d had variations on this chat a dozen times over, and while Barbara would indulge Lydia any number of repeat conversations, she was restless and just barely hiding it. It was a beautiful day out—she could tell by the sun streaming in the kitchen window—and the fact that Barbara couldn’t go outside and feel it for herself was grating on her. She rubbed her hands together, feeling like she could jump out of her skin. She nearly did when the door slammed open and Delia came rushing in like there was a fire under her very high and tottery heels.

“Mrs. Maitland!” she exclaimed. She skidded to a halt and put a hand to her midsection, breathing in deeply.

“What’s up, Delia?” Lydia asked, looking perplexed and vaguely amused. Delia cleared her throat importantly.

“I would like to speak to Mrs. Maitland. In private.”

“Okay,” said Lydia. Delia narrowed her eyes.

“Alone, Lydia.”

Lydia looked around. “The kitchen seems pretty empty to me.”

Barbara laughed and patted Lydia’s wrist. “Why don’t you go to your room for a bit? You have some homework to finish up, right? I’ll be up soon and we can continue our conversation.”

Lydia gave her a skeptical look but slid off her chair. Barbara gave her a quick smile and a wave. Smile still firmly in place, she looked back at Delia.

“What would you like to talk about?” she asked. “Oh, and again, please just call me Barbara.”

Delia nodded and smoothed the front of her dress. Now that Barbara was looking for it, she could tell the other woman was anxious. She stopped short of outright wringing her hands, but her fingers were locked together tightly, making her knuckles white with tension.

“I have some….disturbing news,” Delia announced. “Perhaps you should sit down? Oh, you’re already sitting down. Is there a way for you to sit down more? I would hate for you to faint—wait, can spirits faint?”

Barbara stood and put a concerned hand on Delia’s shoulder. “Do _you _need to sit down, Mrs. Deetz?”

“Delia, please,” Delia said absently. Barbara led her over to a chair and sat her down. She sat too, to appease Delia, and put one hand over hers.

Soothingly, she said, “What did you want to tell me?”

Without warning, Delia’s eyes filled with tears. She said, “I just want you to know that I’ve been through this myself. I know how hard it is. I know how much it hurts. And I just need you to know that it’s nothing you did or didn’t do. It’s not a measure of your worth as a woman or a wife, it’s—it’s—it’s just a terribly cruel thing that men do sometimes. And I’m here for you, M—Barbara. Not as a life coach, but as a friend.”

“What are you talking about?”

Delia let out a shaky breath. “I know this is going to be hard to hear. I want you to stay strong, alright, just remember that your worth—”

“Just tell me!” Barbara snapped.

Delia blurted out, “Adam is cheating on you!” 

Barbara frowned. “He’s what? With who? We can’t leave the house.”

“The demon! I don’t want to say his name because Lydia told me not to. But I saw them. They were,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “kissing.”

Barbara blinked. Then, she burst out laughing. Delia sat upright, pulling her hand away.

“What?” she snapped, looking rather ruffled.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Barbara said, her shoulders shaking. “I don’t mean to laugh, really. I thought you knew!”

“Knew what?”

“Beetlejuice is our boyfriend,” Barbara explained. Then she paused and wrinkled her nose. “We’ve never used that word for him, but it’s basically true. It just feels weird to have a boyfriend. At my age!”

Delia held up a finger, lowered it again, and said, haltingly, “I—I’m not sure I understand.”

“Adam and I are both dating Beetlejuice. Consensually. Together. It’s not cheating because I know about it, and I’m doing it, too.”

“But,” Delia said desperately, “You’re having a baby! Adam’s baby!”

“Yes, and that baby will have three parents instead of two. Just because Beetlejuice isn’t the father doesn’t mean he can’t be _a _father.”

Delia’s lips twisted in displeasure. “It just seems odd.”

“Doesn’t it?” Barbara said, resting her chin in her hand. “It seems like something I’d never, ever do. But I guess things really do change when you die because it feels like the most natural thing to me now. And I’m happy. Adam’s happy. So is Beetlejuice. And our baby, when they get here, will be happy too.”

“Then I’m happy for you,” Delia said decisively. She frowned again. “But I don’t understand what I heard them talking about. It was something about you not knowing what they were doing.”

Barbara sighed. “Those boys. Always scheming something. Really, Delia, I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I am. Thank you, though. For bringing this up with me. You’re a good friend.”

Delia blushed. “I’m not sure about that. But, ah, I’m glad I was able to help.” 

Both women stood up and hesitated. Then Barbara shook her head at her own awkwardness and hugged Delia.

“We need to hang out more,” she said. “I miss having friends.”

“You have Lydia,” Delia pointed out.

Barbara laughed. “Lydia is fifteen. I love her to pieces, but I just can’t talk to her like I can to another adult. Besides, I think I’m finally starting to understand your art. Maybe you could teach me how to sculpt sometime.”

Delia’s face lit up. “I would love that! And I…. don't have many friends, either.”

“Well, you can add me to that number,” Barbara said, giving Delia one more quick hug. She hesitated. “You mentioned that you’d been through this before—the cheating thing, I mean—so if you ever need someone to talk to about that…”

“Thank you,” Delia said sincerely. “I’m alright now. Charles has been a godsend, truly. My ex-husband needed to cheat on me so that I could find him. We were meant to love each other.”

Barbara decided not to argue with that statement. Some battles are better not fought between friends.

Regretfully, she said, “I should go to Lydia’s room like I said I would. And probably find my ridiculous boys and figure out what they’re planning.”

“Good luck,” Delia said. “And…when you do. Come tell me about it?”

Barbara returned Delia’s hesitant smile. “What else are friends for?”

—

After a quick stop in Lydia’s room, Barbara found Adam and Beetlejuice in the attic, huddled together by a table and hunched over…something. 

“Delia said you were plotting something. I wasn’t sure I believed her,” she said, leaning against the doorframe. Both men jumped. Hastily, Adam hid something behind his back.

“Planning?” Adam asked. “We’re not planning anything. Right, Beej?”

“Nope! Never. I can’t believe you’d accuse me of—”

Barbara raised her eyebrows and folded her arms. 

“Yeah, alright, we’re planning something,” Beetlejuice admitted. Adam smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

“What? We had to tell her eventually.”

“And?” Adam said.

“And I don’t like it when she’s mad at me,” Beetlejuice admitted.

“Oh, she’s not mad. If she’s mad at you, you’ll know,” Adam promised.

“He’s right,” Barbara said. She crossed the room and them each a kiss on the cheek. “Seriously, though, what’s going on with you two?”

“It’s a surprise,” Adam said firmly. 

“Well….I suppose I just have to trust you and wait until you’re ready to tell me,” Barbara said glumly. Then she grinned, reached behind Adam, and grabbed at the thing in his hands. After a brief tussle, she emerged with her prize.

“What’s this?” she asked, holding up a rough, palm-sized block of wood. It had the tell-tale signs of a piece of Adam’s carving—his carving knife was lying on the table and there were parts of it shaved away, not yet enough to see what it would become.

Adam groaned and covered his face in embarrassment.

“It’s a present for you. You’re not supposed to know about it yet.”

“But what is it?”

“It was Beetlejuice’s idea. He can tell you.”

Beetlejuice shifted uncomfortably as Barbara looked over to him. “I thought if you had a piece of the house with you, you’d be able to leave. Like an anchor. But I was just going to give you a loose brick from the basement. Adam was the one to think of carving some wood into a replica of the house.”

“Oh,” Barbara said faintly. She looked at the small block of wood again. Knowing what it would be and what it would mean made it so much more precious. She pressed it to her heart.

“Beetlejuice thinks that our baby will be able to leave the house. He wanted us to be able to leave, too.”

“Thank you, boys,” she said quietly. She cleared her throat. “What about you, Adam?”

Adam pulled out a chain from under his shirt, strung with a simple wooden charm.

“Got mine done already. I checked it this morning. It’s safe.”

“You went _outside? _Without knowing if it was _safe?”_

“I had Beetlejuice with me!” Adam said defensively, just as Beetlejuice said, “Like hell I would have let him go alone.”

Gratitude and post-emptive fear bubbled up in her chest, pressing against her lungs and making it hard to breathe. Adam risked his life on the small chance that their dumb loophole would work, for her. And the fact that Beetlejuice had been the one to think of it? She shook her head.

“You’re both stupid for taking that risk,” Barbara said fiercely. “But you’re mine, and I’m so, so grateful.”

She handed the wooden block back to Adam. “Finish carving it, okay? I can wait a little longer to go outside.”

“You sure?” Adam asked lowly. Barbara nodded.

“I’d been feeling a little stir-crazy, but I just had a really nice reminder that I have a friend inside the house, too. I’d like to spend a little time with her.”

Beetlejuice’s arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer to him. “Can’t you spend some time with us first? We could have died today, you know,” he said, a hint of a pout in his voice. He’d learned pretty quickly that Barbara was weak for puppy-dog eyes, especially from Beetlejuice. She rolled her eyes fondly.

“Yes, BJ, you two come first.”

Adam leaned into Beetlejuice’s other side. “First thing we’re doing when all of us can leave the house is going on a proper date. No matter what Lydia says is hip now, I’m getting tired of ‘Netflix and chill’.”

“I don’t mind it,” Barbara said. 

“Especially the ‘chill’ part,” Beetlejuice added.

As they joked with each other, Adam took out the block and started carving again. Part of Barbara wanted to grab it from him, take his hand, and run outside for the first time since they’d died, but the bigger part of her was content to let that anticipation build up in her chest for a little bit longer. Just knowing there would be a day she could leave this house made the waiting much more bearable.

She smiled to herself. Maybe, after her date with Adam and Beetlejuice, she would ask Delia to her that new art gallery in the next town over she was always talking about. Maybe they could take Lydia with them. A girl’s day out sounded nice. Actually, it sounded better than nice—it sounded like just what she needed.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sidras-tak on tumblr!


End file.
